Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin
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Olgah - I was told that all my food needed to be cooked, not just boiled. I don't think there would be anything wrong with roast...or cake
. I really miss eating salad and fresh, raw veggies. It's just for a few weeks though.It sounds like maybe you have acid reflux with pain in your esophagus and throat. Have you tried any acid reducers like Pepcid?
I'm sorry you are feeling depressed. This is a tough disease, but we are tough women. I hope you are feeling better soon.
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I was not given any direction on food, realy it all needs to be cooked nothing raw?? I am still eating salad and fruit. Is this just while you are on chemo? what chemo are you on?
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I had no restrictions on food except for things like tomato sauce or spicey food that might upset my stomach. I think it may depend on whether or not you are getting the neulasta shot.
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After the food-born illnesses found in fresh spinach, green onions, and now the listeria in cantaloupe, I didn't argue with my Onc. I tend to be pretty germ-phobic and paranoid anyway. I can live with frozen veggies and fruits for 18-20 weeks.
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Grimbol - I'm on TCH - Taxotere, Carboplatin & Herceptin.0
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sorry, silly question for this thread! (chemo brain?) I do get the Neulasta shot so maybe that's why I have no restrictions.
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Omeprazole is generic Prilosuc (or Prilosec as you all know it). It doesn't work for me either. Get your onc to prescribe Protonix or Nexium and see if that works. This is for heartburn/acid reflux not for nausea.
I too was on nuelasta and therefore had no food restrictions. I too read you needed to cook everything etc if you weren't on nuelasta or your white counts were down. I even ate sushi (onc OKed it). Only thing I wouldn't eat was raw cookie dough.
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olgah, I juice beets carrots, and apples when my counts are, good, just be sure, to wash them very good, and I have been fine, but do run it by your onc. first.
Thank you special K, so far so good with the flu shot. My arm finally stopped hurting.
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zumba - glad about the arm! I always felt bad for my DH when he was active duty (Air Force) and would have to go through that assembly line of shots. His arms would hurt for a week!
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I'll be getting the Nuelasta shot next week. I'll have to ask if it changes my dietary restrictions.
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kelliregi - take a Claritin an hour before your shot and continue for a few days afterward, after asking permission from your MO. It helps with the bone pain that Neulasta can cause. I was on Neulasta from the beginning and had no dietary restrictions. A lot of ladies also took Aleve if they had some pain. Mine was OK with some Tylenol, and that was only on the first one.
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Thanks SpecialK! I definitely will take some Clairtin, I'm on it on and off anyway. It seems to help with the lovely Herceptin drip. I already have pretty extreme leg pain just from the TCH. My Onc said she would address this next week before my 2nd TCH. I'm not quite sure what she means. I've been taking Ativan and Dilaudid when the pain is at its worst. Thankfully it's only for a few days. 0
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My leg pain is getting me down. I am taking Claritin for the the Neulasta, but nothing seems to help with the leg pain from the Taxol. I use Percocet too but it just barely takes the edge of. It seemed to last longer this time tx 3, and even 10 days later I can still get spasms of it every-so-often.
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Pain from taxanes is the devil - I am afraid you just have to wait it out. There doesn't seem to be much that is helpful, based on what I have read on these boards. I had q few SE but that was not one I had too much trouble with. I did find that warm-hot (not too hot though!) baths were very helpful.
kelliregi - I too get the drippy/stuffy nose from the H - good you are already taking the Claritin. You need to time it just right - I did forget on tx#3 and took it half an hour after the shot - it was definitely too late. That was my worst bone pain - even more than the very first one. The antihistamine helps control the edema (swelling) in the marrow, the thinking is that it helps with the resultant pain. There is actually a new study on this, but it is not complete yet I don't think.
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Hey ladies anyone have a fever after exchange? I have had a fever 100-101 since getting home from the hospital on weds. My PS has me on Keflex and says not to worry. Easier said than done! I had a seroma during my TE surgery. And I feel awful, soreness swelling and fever. Anyone can share their experience.
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nmoss - what leg issues did you have after 4 txs? what made you/them stop?
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Hi Grimbol, I had a really tough time from Nuelasta pain during chemo. But the leg pain and heaviness got so bad I could not walk and my onc said no more. I went to a neurologist to rule out neuropathy. But my onc thought I had had enough between not being able to walk and 5/6 days if pain from Nuelasta. But I want to add I had no node involvement and I had clean scans going into chemo.I do wish I could have completed all six for peace of mind. But I am continuing Herceptin until march. Are you having issues?
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nmoss - Are you feeling better today? Antibiotics kicking in yet?0
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Maybe yes, the leg pain from the Neulasta and Taxol combined is what is probably buggin me most, plus the neuropathy also courtesy of the Taxol. My hands and feet have got pretty bad this time, such that I could imagine not being able to do much with them if it continues to get worse as each tx does. I wondered what made it that people can't walk, whether that was the neuropathy or pain. The leg pain has eased up, finally, except for the odd twinge every-so-often, but it lasted longer with this 3rd tx than it had before. NOTHING really touches it pain med wise - I'd love to try marujana if I could as they say that really helps. I am going to ask this time.
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Grimbol - If you do end up trying marijuana, please post if it helps with the leg pain. You are lucky to live in Ca. There is no medical marijuana option in Florida.0
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Hey feelinga little better, still fever at 100 but pain is slowly getting better!! Grimbol my onc tried over the course of 3 TX percocet, ocycodone and finally tramadol worked about 50%.
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I am 11 days out from my last chemo, and my tongue is still coated and funky, but the worst part is two of my finger nails are lifting
all ten are brownish red and sore, but the index ones are actually lifted up. I keep them short, but, I now have to wear bandaides on them to keep them from catching on things. Counting money at the bank for four hours was really difficult yesterday. I am glad my drawer balanced. 0 -
Zumbagirl Your nails will get much better but it's certainly an aggravation. Mine were the same at the end of chemo-very sore, discolored and all of them lifted significantly on the ends-like a 1/3 to 1/2 of every nail was lifted off the nailbed. The soreness went away first and I kept trimming the nails really short and was very careful not to catch them on anything. At 4 months PFC they look completely normal again (I wouldn't have believed it because they were a mess back then...)0
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Dragonfly and Zumbagirl,
Did your nails start acting up before your last treatment? I just had # 5 and so far so good. I have been icing since # 2 and using tea trea oil daily. Only one has a little bit of a purple tint to it, but they seem to be growing and doing okay. I have kept them short. I am wondering if it can still happen.
I never recovered my taste buds from # 4 and two days after # 5 I am really struggling to eat. I have that nasty film on my tongue. It makes it hard to eat and I am still anemic, in spite of the transfusion a couple of weeks ago.
I have not had any significant pain from Nuelasta and wonder if the Claritin really helped. I usually get sore ankles a week after treatment, but nothing Advil won't control.
I have managed to work the last few weeks, and doing okay. I am taking off Mon-Wed as I know I will be crashing and battling stomach issues. It has been pretty predictable and I am hoping I am not going to get any surprises!
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I will be sure to keep you all up to date on the marijuana issue. I will ask my onc first, but I won't see him until the next tx on 10/12. I am almost shocked at how many people tell me they could get hold of some if I want it - I guess I'd never thought about it before.
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I'm just dropping by to say "Hi!" It's been almost 3 years since I started chemo; 2 years since I finished treatment. Life did get back pretty much to normal.
I can't help much with the leg pain issues that some of you are having. I didn't have that, but I had Neupogen which isn't as strong as Neulasta. I hope it gets better for you.
My finger nails got very weak during chemo, but never lifted. I did lose a couple of toe nails. They are all back to normal now. My hair came back - it grew pretty slowly for a while, but it's back to a normal growth rate now and its the same color as the locks I saved from my pre-chemo hair cut. (I was thinking of having one of those ponytail caps made, but didn't get around to it.) Oddly, my hair had been naturally curly and it came back straighter which took some getting use to., More often I've seen people say that theirs came back curlier.
nmoss, I didn't have an exchange because I had a lumpectomy. However, last summer over a year and a half after the lumpectomy, I got a breast infection. I guess there was an absess that broke open after all that time. I had a fever of over 103 for a day despite anti-fever meds. Then the fever went down but the breast was very red, swollen and painful. It took two courses of antibiotics to settle things down. The nurse practitioner said that that it wasn't unusual to need more than one course of antibioitics for a breast infection because the circulation to the area isn't great.
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I'm just dropping by to say "Hi!" It's been almost 3 years since I started chemo; 2 years since I finished treatment. Life did get back pretty much to normal.
I can't help much with the leg pain issues that some of you are having. I didn't have that, but I had Neupogen which isn't as strong as Neulasta. I hope it gets better for you.
My finger nails got very weak during chemo, but never lifted. I did lose a couple of toe nails. They are all back to normal now. My hair came back - it grew pretty slowly for a while, but it's back to a normal growth rate now and its the same color as the locks I saved from my pre-chemo hair cut. (I was thinking of having one of those ponytail caps made, but didn't get around to it.) Oddly, my hair had been naturally curly and it came back straighter which took some getting use to., More often I've seen people say that theirs came back curlier.
nmoss, I didn't have an exchange because I had a lumpectomy. However, last summer over a year and a half after the lumpectomy, I got a breast infection. I guess there was an absess that broke open after all that time. I had a fever of over 103 for a day despite anti-fever meds. Then the fever went down but the breast was very red, swollen and painful. It took two courses of antibiotics to settle things down. The nurse practitioner said that that it wasn't unusual to need more than one course of antibioitics for a breast infection because the circulation to the area isn't great.
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olgah, I was told to keep to cooked food or peeled fruits and vegetables when my white cell counts were low. As long as the temperature of the food has been brought up to the safe level, it doesn't matter how it is cooked - roasted is just as good as boiled. Rare hamburger wouldn't be a good idea during chemo. I did cheat and have sushi a couple of times during the third week of the cycles - I was taking Neupogen to bring my white cell counts up and new that they were pretty normal during the third week. Cooked vegetables have vitamins too. Cooking may reduce the amount, but it doesn't eliminate them and in some cases it actually makes the vitamins there more useable because it makes the vegetables easier to digest.
During chemo, red blood cell counts go low because chemo attacks cells that are dividing and growing quickly and that includes white and red blood cells as well as cancer cells. Diet doesn't help because in this case, one isn't anemic because of not having enough raw materials, the body just is having difficulty making the new cells. I had to have blood transfusions twice during chemo to bring my red cell count up.
SpecialK and zumba, the flu vaccine isn't a live virus vaccine. It is killed virus so white counts being low shouldn't be a problem. I've heard that the vaccine may be less effective when given during chemo because of the immune system reaction that creates the immunity being depressed, but there shouldn't be any danger in getting the flu shot.
My red blood cell counts stayed slightly below normal until after I finished Herceptin - they were much better than the lows during chemo but not quite up to normal. In the blood test I had 6 months after finishing Herceptin, they were back above normal and about the same as my pre chemo level. My white blood cell count was normal shortly after chemo ended. Herceptin alone didn't seem to affect that.
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anafoefana,
My nails started slowly turning colors, and being sensitve after chemo 3, and after 5 they were very dark, and tender, and not until 1 week after chemo 6 did two of them start lifting. My taste was gone and coated all but 3 days or so in between chemos. and I was taking the swish and swallow med, 3 times a day.
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My onc gave me a flu shot at chemo #2. I just got a flu shot again on Friday. My white counts are probably going back to normal now that I had my last Herceptin on Sept 16 but I don't want to deal with the flu. I never got flu shots before. Rare got the flu but when I did it was a big deal. Last time was in 2007.
My fingernails started to hurt after tx 2. My toenails already showed signs of lifting at tx 2. The continued to get worse after tx 6. This SE is rare and from what I was told it's even rarer to get it as badly as I did. If you are getting the SE at the end of treatment it may not get so bad.
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